@Treehouse Official #Treehouse $TREE
🇺🇸🚢 THE AMPHIBIOUS SHIP USS SAN ANTONIO (LPD-17) DEPARTED FROM NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, HEADING TOWARDS WATERS OFF VENEZUELA
The USS San Antonio is part of the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Group that set sail on August 14 with 4,500 military personnel, including 2,200 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. This is the first deployment of an amphibious group with embarked Marines since December, breaking an 8-month absence.
The official mission: anti-drug operation against the "narcoterrorists" of the Cartel of the Suns. Trump offered $50 million for Maduro's head. But the Marines are NOT trained in drug interdiction - they are trained for embassy evacuations and amphibious assaults.
🚁 Embarked arsenal: AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft, MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors, CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, and MH-60S Seahawk helicopters, plus armored vehicles. Capability to land Marines in hostile territory using boats and helicopters.
They are joined by 3 guided missile destroyers (USS Sampson, Jason Dunham, and Gravely) equipped with Aegis systems and long-range Tomahawk missiles. There is also a nuclear submarine and P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft in the area.
💥The hurricane season with Hurricane Erin category 4 could complicate operations. Trump called this a "show of force".
